Landing device for dismounting from  apparatus, particularly for gymnasts

ABSTRACT

The object of the invention is a landing device, particularly for gymnasts when dismounting from said apparatus, particularly for the purpose of a stabilized dismount, characterized in that it comprises at least one first shock-absorbing volume ( 10 ) and one second shock-absorbing volume ( 12 ), the at least one of these two volumes being inflatable, both superimposed, as well as means ( 14 ) of connecting these at least two volumes in said superimposed position. The second shock-absorbing volume is inflatable.

This invention relates to a landing device, particularly for gymnasts when dismounting from said apparatus, particularly for the purpose of a stabilized dismount.

Shock-absorbing mats exist to cushion falls during the exercises of gymnasts on apparatus such as the parallel bars or asymmetrical bars, or else the pommel horse.

A landing device for the gymnast, with the purpose of enabling a stabilized dismount on dismounting from the apparatus, is also provided.

The prime function of these landing devices, in the form of mats, must be that of absorbing shock in the case of a fall resulting from a faulty movement, so as to preserve personal safety without being a pare-chute mat of great height, which would not allow for the stabilization of said gymnast.

The level of shock-absorption must indeed also be sufficiently firm to enable a satisfactory landing and to provide stability at the moment of landing of the gymnast dismounting after an exercise.

These shock-absorbing mats currently have an envelope containing a parallelepiped of foam.

This type of mat is very thick, of the order of 20 cm, unlike exercise mats having a thickness of a few centimeters, while their length varies from 1 meter to several meters. Under no circumstances must their height be much greater.

The patent application US2013/086744 discloses, for example, a fall-arresting cushion having a height of 50 cm and more. Such a fall-arrest cushion is used outdoors and comprises a protective layer in the lower part in order to protect a thick expandable envelope, disposed in the upper part, as protection against tearing and other piercing. This envelope is not inflated, but rather includes expandable elements that are mechanically compressible, such as, e.g., foam pads, and at least one air inlet.

Thus, when the envelope is unrestrained, the expandable components return to their natural shape and air is drawn in at ambient pressure, to fill the voids between the expandable components.

Such a cushion has no shock-absorbing and stabilizing function in a gymnastic exercise, but only a safety function.

The casing must be mechanically strong and is usually made of a coated fabric, which gives it a certain rigidity. This is necessary so as to guarantee preservation of the generally parallelepiped shape of said mat even after numerous stresses.

When a competition is organized or during a gymnastics sports event, the exercise hall, usually devoid of mats, must hence be provided with them.

These multipurpose sports halls must be equipped for the events according to the various disciplines.

In the case of gymnastics, there are numerous disciplines that require shock-absorbing and stabilization mats according to the present invention.

In fact, when the sports hall has to be fitted out, said mats must first of all be shipped to the storage area. Due to the rigidity of the mats, they are difficult to ship and personnel are required to roll them up as best as they can, particularly when they are very long. If the mats are shorter, they are no less bulky to pass through the doors and they are heavy to carry.

Since the volume is not compressible, the transported volume is equal to that of the mats, which requires the use of very large-volume vehicles.

Once loaded, said mats are transported to the hall to be fitted out and the reverse procedure must then be performed to ship them out.

As the cost is proportional to:

-   -   the cost of personnel, duration and number, let alone the         arduous nature of the task,     -   the volume transported,         such outfitting costs are in fact high.

In the field of gymnastics, mats are know that comprise an airtight envelope with welded edges and at least one compartment, each compartment comprising at least one valve for inflation with pressurized air.

In order to preserve the original shape needed for the exercises, internal spacing means are provided between the upper surface and the lower surface. These connections ensure that a constant thickness is maintained over the entire surface.

These envelopes thus allow mats to be produced that only occupy a small volume in the deflated state, which facilitates manual transportation and limits the volume of the transport vehicles. Handling is easier and the weight is reduced, meaning that the number of personnel required to install them is also reduced.

Installation by inflation, i.e. by blowing in pressurized air on site, is very fast.

This architecture is also perfect for gymnastic floor exercises, but it becomes more complicated for apparatus exercises and safety mats. Although the pressure is identical to that used for the thin floor exercise mats, e.g. of the order of 220 mbars, the mat is too hard for a fall. If, on the other hand, the pressure is reduced to about 120 mbars, the mat provides good shock absorption, but causes a high amount of energy to be released on impact, such that the gymnast bounces too much and stabilized landings are difficult.

This invention aims to propose a facility that solves the problems posed regarding the reduction of volume and weight, difficult handling, sufficient shock absorption, preserving the initial shape and meeting the necessary shock-absorption standards.

According to one characteristic, the landing device according to the invention, particularly for gymnasts when dismounting from said apparatus, particularly for purposes of a stabilized landing, is characterized in that it comprises at least one first shock-absorbing volume and one second shock-absorbing volume, with at least one of these two volumes being inflatable, with these at least two volumes being superimposed, as well as means of connecting these at least two volumes in said superimposed position.

The shock-absorption device according to the present invention will now be described in terms of a specific, non-limiting embodiment, this illustrative description being achieved with reference to the accompanying drawings, said drawings comprising the following figures:

FIG. 1: a perspective view of a device according to the present invention,

FIG. 2: an exploded view of the device in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3: a lateral side view of the device in FIG. 1,

FIG. 4: a cross-sectional view of the device showing the different elements, separately.

The various Figures show a device according to the present invention that comprises at least one first shock-absorbing volume 10 and a second shock-absorbing volume 12, both superimposed, as well as the means of connecting 14 these at least two volumes in a superimposed position. The first volume is placed beneath the second volume.

In this case, in the embodiment shown, the first shock-absorbing volume 10 has a height H1 and the second volume 12 has a height H2, the total height of the device being H.

In the case of an application to a safety mat at the horizontal bar, the height H1 is between 2 cm and 15 cm and H2 is between 5 cm and 20 cm and the total height must be less than 25 cm in order to remain within the required standards.

In all cases, the volumes are of a uniform thickness so as to form a flat surface, with the faces determining each volume being parallel.

In the embodiment shown, the first shock-absorbing volume 10 is a slab of foam 16, possibly covered by an envelope 18 of a known type, shown in cross section in FIG. 4. This slab of foam 16 is in the shape of a parallelepiped, monolithic, with dimensions fit to the dimensions of the landing zone, these dimensions being fully defined.

Since the foam is resilient, this first shock-absorbing volume 10 retains its parallelepiped shape, even after numerous stresses.

Also according to the embodiment shown, the second shock-absorbing volume 12 comprises an inflatable envelope 20, provided with at least one inflation valve 22. The inflation pressure is, for example, between 120 and 220 mbars.

This inflatable envelope 20 comprises connecting spacers 24, interposed in the internal volume, between the bottom side of the upper volume and the top side of the bottom volume. These connecting spacers 24 are invisible from the outside and are shown in the cross-sectional view in FIG. 4.

The second shock-absorbing volume 12 thus maintains its external shape, usually a parallelepiped, and this second shock-absorbing volume remains in its initial shape. Note that H2 is greater than H1 in the preferred embodiment shown.

If necessary, it is possible to provide shock-absorbing corner-pieces 24 located at the corners, i.e. a shock-absorbing peripheral frame 26, shown as an option in FIG. 2 only, so as to properly maintain the angular shape and to ensure a perfect hold. These corner-pieces and the frame can be made of foam.

Another alternative involves positioning additional shock-absorbers in the form of weights at the corners, for example deformable pieces of the same nature as the envelope, thicker and partially connected to the top of said inflatable envelope.

These weights add to the shock-absorption, not on landing, but on the rebound, so that the rebound can already be partially absorbed by these weights.

Since these two shock-absorbing volumes 10, 12 are superimposed, means of connecting 14 the two volumes are provided so as to preserve a monolithic product, even after a landing and relative movement of one or the other of the shock-absorbing volumes.

Such means of connecting 14 are advantageously pairs of connecting patches 28-1, 28-2, one connected to the bottom face of the shock-absorbing volume in the top position and the other to the top face of the shock-absorbing volume in the bottom position. These pairs of patches can be equipped with a “Velcro®” system, comprising hooks on one of the patches of the pair and loops on the other patches of the pair.

Alternatively, it is also possible to provide a single envelope stemming from the first shock-absorbing volume that totally or partially immobilizes the second shock-absorbing volume.

The second inflatable shock-absorbing volume 12, in the top position in the embodiment shown, can thus be separated from the first foam shock-absorbing volume 10.

During transportation and installation, it will be noted that the first shock-absorbing volume 10 has a constant thickness H1 but it can be easily rolled up because it is independent. In any case, even if not rolled up, such a mat is easy to handle and its light weight facilitates such handling.

Lastly, bearing in mind the heights in question, the thickness of this second shock-absorbing volume remains limited and it is very easy to roll up as well as to transport.

The second inflatable shock-absorbing volume 14 is deflated and can be handled very easily, particularly after having been rolled up.

The assembly can also be kept as it is because, once deflated, the connected first shock-absorbing volume and the second shock-absorbing volume together have a small combined thickness. In fact, the inflatable envelope is empty internally and its nominal thickness is very low.

This is also an undeniable technical advantage.

The landing comfort and the shock-absorbing qualities meet the required standards, as confirmed below.

The tests are performed with an impactor having a diameter of 150 mm, weighing 20 kg, for a simple apparatus-dismounting mat with a stabilized landing.

The drop height of the impactor is always 800 mm for this type of mat.

The impact test must be performed at standard locations on the mat, namely at 8 locations defined as follows:

-   -   In each of the four corners, at 25 cm from the two edges         defining each corner, i.e. four points, and     -   In the center, along central perpendicular bisectors, at 25 cm         from the center of the mat, i.e. four points.

The table below shows that the values obtained meet the standards, particularly the NF standards EN 12503-1 and EN 12503-4, as regards shock absorption, vertical deformation and energy release.

Re- Require- Properties Method Units sults ments Opinion Shock-absorption NF standard g 13.6 ≤40 Compliant Vertical deformation EN 12503-4 mm 95 ≤110 Compliant Energy release % 47 ≤50 Compliant

It is evident that the standards are met and that the values are very different from those of a fall-arresting mat of the prior art. 

1. A landing device comprising: at least one first shock-absorbing volume one second shock-absorbing volume, placed on top of the at least one first shock-absorbing volume in a superimposed position, means for connecting the at least one first shock-absorbing volume and one second shock-absorbing volume in said superimposed position, wherein the second shock-absorbing volume is inflatable.
 2. The landing device according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the volumes is uniform so as to form a flat surface.
 3. The landing device according to claim 1 wherein the first-shock absorbing volume comprises a block of foam.
 4. The landing device according to claim 1 wherein the first shock-absorbing volume is made of foam and has a height and the second inflatable volume has a height that is greater than the height of the first shock-absorbing volume.
 5. The landing device according to claim 3, wherein the heights are respectively: the height of the first shock-absorbing volume is between 2 cm and 15 cm and the height of the second inflatable volume is between 5 cm and 20 cm.
 6. The landing device according to claim 1, wherein, in the case of two shock-absorbing volumes, the connecting means comprise pairs of patches, one connected to the bottom face of the shock-absorbing volume placed on top and the other to the top face of the shock-absorbing volume placed on the bottom.
 7. The landing device according to claim 1 wherein the at least one inflatable shock-absorbing volume has weights at the corners.
 8. The landing device according to claim 1 wherein the at least one inflatable shock-absorbing volume has shock-absorbing corner-pieces at the corners.
 9. The landing device according to claim 1 wherein the at least one inflatable shock-absorbing volume has a peripheral shock-absorbing frame.
 10. The landing device according to claim 1 wherein the at least one inflatable shock-absorbing volume is inflated to a pressure of between 120 mbars and 220 mbars.
 11. The landing device according to claim 1 wherein the single envelope coming from the first shock-absorbing volume immobilizes the second shock-absorbing volume. 